Big Blue View
Could Mauigoa already be on the Giants’ radar?
The offensive line is an evergreen topic for the New York Giants. They have sunk a tremendous amount of resources into finally fixing the line, only to deal with injury and disappointing play on an annual basis.
It’s likely that the Giants will once again be looking to reinforce their offensive line in the 2026 NFL draft. Miami right tackle Francis Mauigoa could be of particular interest, given how unsettled the right side is for the Giants.
The right tackle position could be one of legitimate need with Evan Neal moving inside and Jermaine Eluemunor a short-term option. Fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow could be an answer, however he may also project better inside than as a tackle at the NFL level.
The Giants could once again find themselves frequent visitors to Miami in 2025.
Mauigoa is listed at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, and looks like it on tape. He’s a big, thick offensive tackle with at least adequate arm length. His size, however, belies impressive athleticism and movement skills. Mauigoa has remarkably quick, light feet, and not just for a player his size. He moves like a much smaller man and is positively effortless in his lateral movement.
He’s quick to hit his landmarks as a pass protector, setting solid width and depth to the pocket. He’s able to mirror speed off the edge, as well as quickly work up to the second level as a run blocker. He’s also a natural knee bender who’s able to drop his hips and consistently play with good pad level, as well as uncoil to bow defenders back in the run game.
His movement skills also come in handy when blocking for a mobile quarterback. It’s a skill that was definitely needed with Cam Ward at quarterback, but might not be necessary with Carson Beck transferring from Georgia to Miami.
Mauigoa has very good competitive toughness and does whatever is necessary to sustain his blocks. He uses good footwork to disperse power from bull rushes and is able to stress defenders laterally as a zone blocker in the run game. He seems to understand his role in the overall blocking scheme and is both effective on double teams and keeps his head on a swivel to look for late pressure as well as deal with stunts or blitzes.
His hand usage is still a work in progress, but he shows solid grip strength, as well as the ability to use his hands independently and pick up multiple defenders at once.
There are a couple glaring flaws in Mauigoa’s game at this stage. Most notably, his hand usage is very raw and could cause a number of problems if it doesn’t improve.
First and foremost, Mauigoa doesn’t consistently fire his punch at defenders. In fact, his hands vary considerably between being passive and just “catching” defenders to being downright wild and landing far outside opponents’ framework....
